Understanding Happiness
by Keahi.Aciano
Summary: Max and her brother Gazzy, previously on the run, have finally found a place to call home; among a band of misfits who call themselves "the Flock". Life's tough, but good - that is, until an old "friend" decides to pay the gang a visit. Now, Max has a choice: stay and risk everyone's lives, or leave to face her old foe alone. Rated T for moderate language and violence. No wings.
1. D

**Understanding Happiness**

Max and her younger brother Gazzy, previously on the run, have finally found a place to call home - among a band of misfits who call themselves "the Flock". Life's tough, but nothing they can't handle themselves - that is, until an old "friend" decides to pay Max and Gaz a visit. As they say, all that's good must come to an end, and Max is faced with a choice: remain with the flock and risk everyone's lives, or leave and face her old foe alone. **Rated T for moderate language and violence. No wings.**

 **Prologue~ D**

 _There was smoke in the air. Fire. It was licking at the walls of the hallway behind me, barring all hope of escape with its seemingly impenetrable wall of flames._

 _I had to find Gazzy. Frantically, I spun away from the burning mass creeping ever closer, and tugged at the door before me, trembling as it held fast. I could hear screams of terror on the other side. Gazzy. He couldn't open the door. His yells were getting louder, wilder. I could hear his fists beating desperately at the barrier between us. I told him to calm down, to step away from the door. He didn't protest._

 _The door wouldn't move. As if mocking me, the misaligned blue letters which spell out Gazzy's name dropped off of their hooks one by one with every heave I made._

 _I couldn't hear him now - his heaving sobs had faded to a silence only broken by the steady hiss of flames behind me. I clawed in a shallow breath; the air was thick with smoke. My shaking hands tugged at the door handle once more, but to no avail. I needed to calm dow. I needed to get to Gazzy. I took a step back, over the shattered glass from the frame of our family portrait, running as hard as could at the door, my eyes squeezed tightly shut._

 _The jarring impact to my shoulder was more than I had anticipated, and it flung me uncaringly to the ground. The hinges groaned in protest, but remained sturdy. Again. I staggered to my feet and slammed myself against the door. It creaked once more. Again. My vision was tinged with darkness now, pinpricks of light shining through, like stars._

 _Once more, I hurled myself at the door and, finally, it gave, spilling me into the next room. Gazzy's room. Everything was strewn about in disarray: bed sheets and clothes scattered across the floor, toys toppled from their pedestals, books - previously piled high to the ceiling - now mountains of useless words. All of this and yet, through the thick smoke, there was no sign of Gazzy._

 _"Gazzy," I rasped. "Gazzy!" The air was now an impregnable wall of black smoke. Or…was it not? The stars now moved on their own accord about me, and my head was becoming heavy. Too heavy. I felt my knees giving out. I had to find Gazzy. I had to find Gazzy. Where…where was Gazzy?_

* * *

 **Heya guys!**

 **That took way longer to write than I thought it would, and it's still pretty short. Oh well, I guess it's only the prologue. I'm kinda nervous to put this up - it's hard writing author's notes to people who don't really seem to exist :p.**

 **Please don't be too harsh; this is my first fanfic!**

 **Aaannnndd...bye bye!**


	2. R

**Chapter 1~ R**

I walked stiffly down the cold street. The seasons had passed in the blink of an eye, and I was cursing once again at my inability to dress accordingly to the weather. It was winter now; a sharp rain stabbing at my back, and a buffing wind that snatched my drenched hair out from my hood assured me of this.

As I passed by along the rough pavement, a lone bulb - the near deserted street's sole source of light - flickered into nonexistence, taking it's dimly comforting brightness with it, and plunging the entire street into an inky darkness.

The very same steps that I had trodden hundreds of times before now seemed all the more lonely with only the deafening rain as company.

A quick glance around this place tells you a lot. Decrepit structures and dirty streets at every turn. Piles of empty wrappers and scrap materials at every corner. Not nice, huh? Another, closer look would reveal so much more.

Around me, of those few people who were still out, most hurried down the side of the road, heads fixed determinedly forward towards awaiting cars and shelters. Those are the ones smart enough not to stop for anything. Others lingered purposefully, a glint of menace shining through their squinted eyes. Those are the ones the smart people veer away from. The surrounding buildings were falling apart at the seams, held together with little more than ductape, support beams and sheer willpower. The mountain of trash piled up against a crumbling had someone sleeping it it. _Home sweet home._

 _No - stop it_. I snapped my line of vision forwards; I needed to concentrate. Tonight was important, after all, and I had places I needed to be.

I was hunched into myself as I walked in a (rather pathetic) attempt to stay warm, hands shoved deep into my pockets. My thin, threadbare jacket was no match for the ferocious gale around me, and I found myself wishing - once again - that I'd had the initiative to dress more warmly.

Peaking out from under my hood, I could just about see the bus stop I was to meet at, and I tugged the material back over my eyes with frozen fingers. At this point, I was just wearing the hood for the sake of it, considering the amount of good it did me.

Practically running the final stretch, I burst under the cover of the bus stop out of the torrential downpour, and turned to inspect the dismal street in the other direction. _Wait..._ I rescanned the area to confirm my suspicions. The air rushed out if my lungs all at once; he was late.

The steady, fast-paced drumming of the rain drops was soothing, and gave me something, anything else to focus on rather than my fast building angst. I began pacing the small space fervently, never one too connected with patience, noting the squelching sound my trainers made against the asphalt.

 _Why isn't he here?_ This was getting ridiculous. _There isn't much time left...did something happen? He doesn't like me doing this, but he'd never miss it, not for the world...right?_

Again, I glanced up the barren street. _Where else would he be?_

A great light illuminated the street, washing everything an unforgiving grey. It was closely followed by an almighty crack that reverberated in the darkness and I jumped, clutching at the bus stop's steel support beam for dear life.

It would be a complete lie to say that thunder storms didn't unsettle me in the least - not that I'd ever admit to it. Coupled with his absence, I was jittery to every sound that wasn't the unrelenting noise of the incessant rain, and my tough exterior was slipping away with every passing minute.

Which is why, when I felt the hand clasp my shoulder from behind, I screamed as loud as I could and spun around, swinging my fist blindly.

I'd like to say I have an excuse, and that his footsteps had been masked by the rain, and that I was never normally taken by surprise, but that'd only be partly true. There was only one person who could sneak up on me like that.

"Dammit, Fang!" Black eyes stared me down and I looked up to the smirking face that held my straining fist just shy of his chest. Immediately, the damn I'd built inside myself bust, and all of my poorly harboured emotions burst free. "Why the hell are you so late?! Do you have any idea how worried I was?"

I brought up my other hand in an attempt to smack him over the head, but it was intercepted far before I even reached his shoulder, and he lightly grasped my wrist as I attempted to pull free. "And why are you so quiet all the time, dumb-ass?!"

"Max." He looked at me seriously past his long, charcoal mop of fringe and I stilled, frowning slightly. "Did you really think I wouldn't come?"

I scuffed the toe of my worn trainer against the ground, turning my face away from him. "No," I muttered. I stared out into the gradually lessening downpour. _I'm such a liar._

He squinted at me one last time, releasing his hold on me. "Good," he allowed a smile to ghost his lips before it fell back into place behind his blank mask. _Uh oh; Fang's mad_. "We'd better get going, though; they won't wait for us."

I nodded wordlessly, and we left the safety of our temporary shelter, trekking back out into the storm. Thankfully, the gale had lessened considerably, and it didn't look like any more lightening was on the way. _That would be embarrassing..._

It was only when Fang took one of my hands and held it in his pocket that I realised just how cold I was. Amazed at how dry he'd managed to stay, I nudged against him, walking as close as possible and heard Fang snort. He didn't move away though, so I took full advantage of the warmth he offered.

Soon enough, we'd arrived, and I slipped my hand out of my best friend's and made my way through the crowd without a backward glance. I knew he'd be there when I needed him, and he had his own priorities to sort out. As did I.

* * *

Ricky looked across his desk shoved into the corner of the overcrowded hall at me. More specifically, at my fist which had somehow embedded itself in the wall's thin plasterboard at his previous comment.

"What do you mean it's been called off?" My voice was scarily impassive, but Ricky remained unaffected by it, scratching at his unshaven blob of a face. A few of the people surrounding us, however, began to shift warily on their feet, obviously uncomfortable.

"Just that darlin'. He ain't gonna show, and that's how it is, so I suggest you get your ass on outta here." He leaned back in his chair even as it creaked and groaned in attempt to bear his weight, his grubby checked shirt straining against his...generous, shall we say, form.

I could tell he was about to make a comment about the wall as I pulled my hand from it, before deciding to refrain. I like to think that it was my glare-of-death that shut him up, but he was looking around me at a tall guy I recognised in the now long line. _Oops_.

"Listen hun, I ain't able to-" Johnny, a young guy who was fairly new to the scene, clasped Ricky on the shoulder and bent down to mutter in his ear.

I twitched my bloodied fingers in anticipation; could this be- Ricky turned back to me, grunting out, "A'right, you're in. Better hurry up 'n case Shadow shows up. Wouldn't wanna mess up that pretty face, now would ya darlin'?" He laughed and turned to spit on the floor whilst waving me past. I scrunched up my nose. _Disgusting prick_.

Stripping off my jacket, I threw it off to the side and quickly bound my suns streaked hair out of my face before following after Johnny. I rubbed my bloodied knuckles, finally letting the shouting and cheering from the onlookers surrounding pump me up, anticipation building.

Suddenly, it all seemed very real. _Here we go again_ , I thought.

I diverted my attention from Johnny who quickly faded away into the background after exchanging a few words with the man stood in the middle ring. The barriers strained against the hordes of people yelling and shoving at one another, and the familiarity of the scene settled any nerves I might've had.

A louder series of cheers and disgruntled yells joined the mass of noise, and I realised that I'd missed an announcement of the heavily tattooed man cracking his beefy knuckles at the other side of the ring smirking across at the people, and quickly tuned in to the announcer's voice.

"...and here we have our late entry, the unbeaten fiend herself. You know her; you love her - she'll certainly give you the ride of your life! I present to you, MAXIMUM RIDE!"

The crowd's roar was now deafening as I jumped the ring and saw the man's face across from me whiten.

I grinned, gesturing at him. _Come and get it._

* * *

 **Heya guys!**

 **So, I've decided that I'll try to upload about every week, but unfortunately I won't be around for two weeks from Friday, so here's another chapter to make up for that (and it's longer than the first, thankfully!)**

 **Tell me what you think and stuff, and I'll speak to you guys soon!**


	3. E

**Chapter 2~ E**

 _Singing. I could hear singing. Shaky, beautiful, yet full of fright. Like someone trying to rock themselves to sleep, trying to ignore the monsters that haunt their dreams._

 _I wanted to scramble out of bed, to push back the sheets that had kept me safe all through the hours of darkness, but, once free of their warm, protective hands, I would be abandoned - alone once again. No one would be there to hold me by the wrist -_

Not that I need it! _I thought adamantly, attempting to snap myself out of my half-awake state. But all I wanted was to delve deeper and deeper into my slumber, and couldn't have cared less if Lissa herself had come in and-_

 _I sat up. As moonlight poured through my window, and I was reminded once again of just where I was; where I never thought I would be._ Not there _, I reassured myself._ Not with her.

 _Perhaps I shouldn't be here, thinking back to all the familiar faces I had left behind._ How on Earth is this fair? _But I clambered out of bed, trying to banish the thought._

 _The sad song was still there, resounding in the broken silence of the night. Softer now though, like a door had been closed upon it. Muffled, as if the frightened child had been silenced by the monsters that pounded at their head, clawing their way out at last._

 _Padding across my room and opening the door, I made my way along the eerie corridor, walking past more closed doors than I was able to count. The dark played tricks on me, and without my sight the hallway seemed to never end._

 _I'd just about found my way through the disorientating twists and turns of our irregularly shaped home, grasping at the handles of doors that each lead to a separate story to keep myself from tripping over on the lush carpet. Before long, I found myself outside Gazzy's room._

 _Hanging upon the door, his name was engraved in blue carved letters, each one crafted with such care and attention. I hesitated at the door as the last note of the lullaby came to an uncertain end, and the house was once again lapsed into a thick silence._

 _Without seeing what was inside, there was no knowing what lay beyond._ No duh _. The singing, I realised impossibly slowly, had been coming from Gaz's room._

Does he like to sing? _My foggy, sleep-ridden self couldn't remember. A frown settled itself upon my face, seeming to take comfort in disjointing my features._

 _"Gazzy?" I whispered through the strong oak wood of the door. The singing started again, so quiet I had to strain to hear it. But...it didn't sound like singing anymore._

 _I cracked the door, half afraid of what I might find. It was messy, as per usual. Books piled high ordered knowledge amongst their fellow subjects, and toys sat upon their thrones, winking at me as I entered. But amongst all this young happiness, there was a dense gloom._

 _The...singing was coming from the corner. Now closer, I found I was right - it was not singing, but rather crying. Wailing. Beautiful wailing, full of fright and remorse. It was coming from behind the bed._

 _"Gazzy?" I asked, louder now. The crying stopped immediately. His tear-stained face stared down at the floor, refusing to acknowledge me by turning. I could see his hunched over, quivering form, even despite the darkness. He didn't look at me, didn't answer me._

 _"Gazzy." I was angry at him; I wasn't sure why he was crying, nor why I was angry. He glanced up at me, not really looking. I let my breath out in a steady stream, crouching on the floor in front of him. I guided his face up to mine._

 _"Hey buddy. Tell me what's wrong." Realisation was striking me, and now I was shaking along with him now. Panicking. My brain going haywire, shouting at me._ Why won't he answer?! Why won't he tell me it's not true?

 _"Where's Dr Martinez, Gaz?" My voice was tight; I wouldn't- couldn't let the question go. My grip was tight on his arms. I knew exactly what was going on. Did I really need confirmation?_

 _I moved Gazzy to sit on the bed as he continued to stare at the ground, bringing the quilts around his shoulders - he was so cold. I fussed over the arrangement of the blankets, not wanting to look outside. Outside. Unable to stop myself, I turned to the window._

 _I saw her outside. She was standing at the door. Now, as I looked, I saw the door frame had been shadowed by a man. The man, he was shouting. Loudly. At Dr M._

 _I felt my hands clench and my face harden. I knew exactly who the man was - Jeb. The hands of_ that _man came down hard on her and yet she remained silent. Rebellious._

 _Clenching my teeth, I stepped back from the window to rush downstairs, but felt a tug at the bottom of my shirt. Gasman. He looked at me through a blank, tear streaked face before turning to stare out of the window at his mother. Dr Martinez's expression mirrored that of Gazzy almost exactly. Almost as if they were a duet, with neither of them in tune._

 _Jeb smirked, took a step back and set off down the path, shouting insults and profanities behind him. Together, we watched him open The Gate, the very same gate that had started my story. Touched by_ him _. He looked back up at the house, a sneer embodied his face, and I took Gazzy's hand in mine._

 _A look of pure hatred toward me was etched upon his dark features. His eyes gleamed with a possessive jealousy and his mouth twisted. I glared back. But my face could never- would never match his._

 _As he turned back towards the road, his one final message was glaringly apparent._

 _I turned back to face Gazzy, my well-schooled expression revealing nothing. He smiled a sad smile, pulling again at the corner of my shirt. I sat next to him an the bed leaning my forehead against his and, for the first time in front of him, I cried. I cried with him, our tears mingling, the salty waters doing little to ease one another's sorrows. My hands clasped his long after dawn broke over the horizon._

* * *

My eyes snapped open, and I remembered. We had sat like that, clutching each other until neither of us were able to cry anymore. And, for those few short hours, we had found comfort within each other, within our isolation.

 _Oh Gazzy. I'm so sorry, Gazzy._

* * *

 **Heya guys!**

 **My friend actually gave me a bit of an idea for this chapter, so credit where credit is due and all that. Sorry that it's just a short one today, but I promise to make the next update longer - cross my heart! Feel free to tell me what you think and how to improve it.**

 **Oh, and it just occurred to me that you guys might be a little confused as to how these chapters are linked, but fear not! All shall be explained in the next chapter! (...hopefully. Hear that, Future-Me?)**

 **Thank you guys so much for reading, bye bye**


	4. A

**Chapter 3~ A**

My face was damp with tears. I looked around me from my place on a bench outdoors, my sight tinged with darkness and the edges of my vision blurred.

 _Whoa_ , I thought, as the world rocked around me. _I think I'm gonna be sick._

I could see Fang hovering slightly away from me, filling his flask at a nearby water fountain. His mouth was set in a grim line, eyes flitting nervously about his hands' actions.

Quickly sitting up and ignoring the throbbing pain in my head, I scuffed at my eyes with the dirtied sleeve of my jac- _Ah_. My gaze shot back over to Fang. _Thanks for getting it,_ I thought.

There was no way I'd dare to voice my thanks, though - he looked ready to explode, and I knew better than to trigger one of his few-and-far-between outbursts. I shuddered. Fang could definitely be terrifying.

He was shifting on his feet as he waited for his bottle to fill to the brim, and I knew he must be anxious to get moving; we couldn't spend too long here. It was risky.

Pushing myself up onto my forearms, I cursed under my breath. My body pulsated with pain, and I paused for a second to assess the damage. My head was the worst off, I found. It seemed I had the absolute delight of being in possession of a sizeable gash, as well as a fine shiner.

I gingerly felt up my temple, not want to disturb the cut, but doing so anyway. My bruised and battered fingers fell upon a wet surface and, bringing them back into myself, I found blood trickling down my fingers. A lot of blood.

 _Just what happened? And...where are we?_ Surveying the area, I knew instantly we were quite a way from the old gym where the fight had been. Judging by the lack of rundown buildings, probably even further than I thought.

"Fang?"

He turned to me instantly, the worry inscribed deep within his features now hidden masterfully behind a look of...nothing. A look I knew all too well, and hated all too much. That look...that look where you can see no one, where no personality shows. _The last one I saw after..._

* * *

This is gonna be cake. _Those where my last thoughts before the first punch was thrown. Never before now had I actually believed in a jinx, but I was willing to bet an eye that that's what happened._

 _Or, maybe not an eye. The sharp blade just centimetres away from my own left one reminded me just how much that would indeed suck, and it was all I had in me not to let the 10 ton man above me sink the pocket knife down any further._

 _I could hear indignant yells from the crowd surrounding us - most likely those that had bet on me - and the raspy whisper of Illegal-Knife-Guy._

 _"You're in for it now, bitch!" My straining arms were about to give out, and the yellow coloured spittle that flew from Knife-Guy's mouth and onto me certainly wasn't helping._

Not today, asshole.

 _I worked one of my legs free, bringing it up between his with all the force I could muster. Knife-Guy yelled out, tipping slightly out of kilter, which was all the opening I needed._

 _Rotating my hips, I switched our positions and brought my fist into full contact with his nose. The sickening crunch was incredibly satisfying, as was the sound of his head smacking back against the old gym's mud-scuffed floor._

 _Onlookers were screaming now at the turned-tables and I saw a fight brewing at the back of the room, but I tuned it all out. What previously had pumped me up was now distracting; I needed to focus._

 _I next few minutes were a blur. Knife-Guy's hand, armed with his trusty companion, flew up toward me wildly, but I was far too preoccupied with beating him further into the ground to take full notice of the blood gushing down onto his face._

 _Suddenly, hands pulled me off him, and I finally noticed that he was, in fact, unconscious. I'd won. As that fact began to sink in, I jumped on the balls of my feet, amazed at how light-headed I felt. I'd won!_

 _I turned, grinning widely to the ring of spectators and felt my arm being lifted above my head._ Ah - the ref.

 _"...really expect anything less? It's yet another victory for the impeccable record of Maximum Ride!" The sound around me was getting too much now, but nevertheless, I raised my other fist in the air, shouting._

 _Fang, who was leaning against the sideboard in his usual all-black attire, looked up as I made my way over to him smirking, adrenaline still coursing through my veins. Still...I wasn't feeling so good._

 _I brought my battered hand up to my head._

 _"Hey, Fang?" I blinked rapidly._ Why...why are there two Fangs?

 _Fang stood up, obviously alarmed, though his face gave away nothing. "Max? What did you-"_

 _"Catch me."_

 _And then, oblivion_.

* * *

Now, Fang bent at my side, pushing away the empty words of reassurance telling him that I was "absolutely fine". I'm such a big, terrible liar, and Fang was well aware.

I met his hard eyes and immediately turned away. _Yeah, I'm an idiot._

"I told you I didn't like you fighting," he muttered, his voice tight. "Because I knew something like this would happen."

He was tugging furiously at the end of his shirt that he held between his teeth.

"Of course someone was going to bring a knife into a fight they knew they couldn't win, but it seems like no one expects it."

The strip Fang had ripped off was now clenched in his fist and he brought by head down so he could bind the gash.

"And when a fighter gets a knife pulled on them, who's the first one to jump in? Not the ref, that's for damn sure."

It was probably time for me to step in. "Fang," I began cautiously, ignoring the glare aimed at me that replaced his mask (telling the truth, I was actually kind of glad for it), prior to continuing.

"I handled it fine on my own. I've never lost a fight once you know," I then added, for his benefit, "especially thanks to you." _Gee, I might as well bat my eyelids and pout for all the good this is doing me._

Fang rolled his eyes, a slight smirk forming on his lips - _score!_ \- before climbing to his feet and offering out a hand to me.

"Come on," was all he said.

* * *

 **Heya guys!**

 **I guess I'm uploading more than I thought I would, but seeing as it's summer I have way more time on my hands.** **Anyway, I just realised I haven't written a disclaimer yet, so here's one for the rest of the story:**

 **I don't own any of the characters here (obviously) - only the ideas that went into this.**

 **Please tell me what you thought, any mistakes I can fix, stuff like that. Bye bye!**


End file.
